Folks this is the nwe thread im posting. Anyone familiar with the e31 and have mech expertise will be of much help. My 850 has a starting problem. I cant get it to the mechanic b/c it wont stay running. The car starts, runs for about 10 seconds and then cuts off. It repeats this everytime I start the car. What may be the issue. I know there may be hundreds of possible problems but I need a basic starting point. It has a full tank but has been stored for about ten years. Fuel pump, air induction things like that will be helpfull.

yea , your right it could be 1 of a hundred possible problems, i could tell you to check a few things but you could be waisting your time. best thing is get car plugged into diagnostics system. my E31 wont spark at all and almost everything has been changed, its a nightmare. hope your fault is somthing handy,
good luck

Yes when it starts and runs normal like its warming up for about 15 seconds then it cuts off. Checked L/S fuel pump which free flows and R/S which dosent flow much but shows a presence of fuel. If I could run it to get it to a shop would be good.

as not to leave this issue hanging drasticaly the issue of the starting problem ended up being vapor lock. My mechanic honestly and smartly sprayed starting fluid into the intake manifold or upstream into the engine via the air filters. Prior to this I repaired the leaking fuel hose which left a large bubble in the line. In gracious return Im letting him repair both fuel pumps and filters which we thought uld be the original problem. 15 year old gasoline tends to do that kind of thing. Lucky thats all. Really lucky.

Now to finally put this puppy to bed. The complete issue actually centered around the lack of a fuel pump. Now all of that that I said about my mechanic was bad information to say the least. When this guy was finished with my car my lights no longer rise and lower, my front plate along with the mounting strip was gone ($300)and the original problem still existed. I replaced both throttle bodies, changed all plugs and wires, repalced the fuel pumps and filters and vacume hoses. I dont know how much cash I saved or what a estimate of what I did would have cost but now she is running like a 850 should. A Mustang pulled up next to me and wanted to go at the light. I left him at the light as well. Moral: If you can afford a top mechanic, spend the cash and get it done right. If u cant afford one and have mechanical skillz, dont me lazy and dont be scared. Theres enough info on line to where one can do many repairs with confidence. If man built it man can fix it. Just have the nutz to admit that you made a mistake and fix it. I did. Art.